The Last Prom for Glitz!

She’s the reason more than 7,000 couples have gotten married at Mall of America. She’s made prom dreams come true for countless girls. After 23 years of defining the special occasion business at the mall, MaryAnne London, the founder of Chapel of Love, will say farewell this week—to silk and sequins, to packs of Snapchatting teenage girls. Glitz! prom store will close on Sunday.

“It’s a good decision for our family, but will end my 23 years at MOA,” London says. “It’s been a great run!”

London got the idea for Chapel of Love when she saw a morning news report about a wedding chapel at a strip center in Detroit. She mentioned it to her boss at Kraus-Anderson Companies, which manages commercial properties across the Twin Cities. It didn’t make sense for any of their buildings, but then she decided to pitch it on her own to Mall of America, which was just two years old and looking for unique concepts.

“It sounded fun to me,” says London, who worked in marketing and communications. “I figured, I do tons of events—weddings aren’t so complicated.” She bought a book on how to write a business plan and made up some numbers—“because who knew,” London recalls.

Chapel of Love opened on Tax Day in 1994. London arranged for a Washington County judge to marry a Woodbury couple and it made international news. “USA Today was there, the British tabloids were there, every news station in town covered it,” she recalls. “If it had been anywhere else, it would have been a local story, but Mall of America gave me an international audience.”

After 11 years and more than 4,000 weddings, London saw another opportunity: prom. She opened special occasion shop Glitz! featuring designer dresses—some of the same lines she sold at Chapel of Love. She offered services like a dress registry so no two girls from one school would end up in the same style. The store took off, but London, who had kept her day job with Kraus-Anderson, couldn’t manage three businesses, and Glitz! was too new to sell. So she sold Chapel of Love, which has since surpassed 7,000 weddings, to focus on Glitz!

“I’m a heck of a delegator,” London says by way of explaining how she was able to juggle two demanding careers, and being a single parent. “I hired smart people and trusted them. Keeping my day job allowed me to not have to take money out of the business. I would have been a basket case if I had to rely on the store. But if you’re an entrepreneur and you love what you do, you can’t wait to get there. Even on a Saturday.”

It's not news that the Internet has been hard on independent retailers, but especially in a niche business devoted to a big ticket special occasion purchase. In recent years, girls would try on dresses, but then order online, London says. Knockoffs have become rampant. London cut her margins to get prices as low as possible. She tried adding social dresses for women, and for younger girls. She embraced social media. “First we tried saying you can’t take pictures, then we started telling them to tag us on Instagram,” London says.

Glitz! will close for good on Sunday, June 4. At least 250 current season designer gowns from Sherri Hill, Mori Lee, Jovani and others are on sale. Originally priced up to $700, they are now marked down to $49, $99 and $199. Shoes and accessories are on sale, too.

Next week, for the first time in 23 years, London will not have to spend every spare moment at Mall of America. But it’s unlikely she’ll be able to stay away altogether. “I’m a mall person,” says London. She's about to become something altogether new: a retiree. London plans to leave her day job as well, after 44 years with Kraus-Anderson. She bought a house in Arizona and says, "my kids are just happy I bought a house instead of starting another business!"